


Undeclared

by Baconfat



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-24 02:27:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16631135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baconfat/pseuds/Baconfat
Summary: "A shiny sword for every King, huh," Prompto went on. "So what's yours gonna be?"Noct didn't like to think about it. "The Engine Blade, I guess.""The Engine Blade of the what? The Noct?"Noct blinked.





	Undeclared

Noct was staring out the window, watching the Tomb retreat behind them and feeling his eyes get heavy, when Prompto twisted around in his seat. "So which one was that?"

Noct rubbed at his eyes. "Huh?"

"Which King?"

Noct ran a hand through his hair and thought about it, feeling for the flashes of knowledge that had come to him with the shield. "Think it was a Queen, actually."

"Cool!"

Noct grinned. "She was big on... uh, fairness, I guess. Standing up for the little guy."

"What was her name?"

No idea. "Specs?"

Ignis adjusted his glasses. "That would be Queen Aequis Lucis Caelum, known as Aequis the Just, one hundred and eighth heir to the Lucian throne. Daughter of Sanctus the Pious and mother to Indomitus the Fierce. Though ruthless in battle, she was known as a fair and just ruler in dealing with both her people and her prisoners. She modernized and formalized much of Lucis's Criminal Code, and her likeness graces the Seat of Justice in the Crown City."

Prompto patted Ignis on the shoulder. "You're a regular fountain of knowledge, Iggy."

Ignis inclined his head without ever taking his eyes off the road. "And you're a regular babbling brook, Prompto."

"Thanks. So how many shiny swords have we got now?"

"Uh, five?" Noct guessed.

"Indeed," Ignis nodded. "The Sword of the Wise, the Axe of the Conqueror, the Sword of the Wanderer, the Blade of the Mystic, and now the Shield of the Just."

"Gotta catch 'em all," Prompto said. "How many are there, anyway?"

Noct shrugged. "Must be a hundred and —" His throat caught, but he pushed through it. "— and twelve." If his dad had one, Noct didn't want it.

"It would stand to reason," Ignis agreed. "Though it's impossible to say how many Tombs have survived to the present day, or where to find them."

"And you can use them all?" Prompto asked.

"I... guess?" Noct said. "I don't know any more about it than you do. Cor's not exactly a talker." And the last time they'd seen him Noct wasn't really in the mood to listen.

"Noticed that, huh," Prompto said. "I like to think that me and the Marshal have an unspoken bond."

Noct arched his eyebrows.

"You know, based on the two hours of self-defense training he gave me before we left home. I'll never forget the way he looked at me when we were done, put his hand on my shoulder and said, _Prompto_ — no, wait." He cleared his throat and tried to make his voice all gravelly. Noct started laughing. " _Prompto,_ he said, _for God's sake, just don't shoot the prince._ "

"Words to live by," Ignis said cheerfully, sipping an Ebony. "You've done a fine job. Thus far."

"Thank you!" Prompto said, way too enthusiastically. "I have to admit I've been tempted, though."

"Haven't we all," Ignis sighed.

"Just try it," Noct dared him.

Ignis laughed. "Looking forward to our next training session?"

Noct grinned at him in the mirror. "You know it."

Ignis cleared his throat, putting his eyes back on the road. "To answer your question, Prompto, Noct's lineage gives him a certain facility with all manner of weapons wielded by his ancestors."

Gladio snorted. "Yeah. When I first started, it took me two months of full-time training just to lift my dad's broadsword, let alone swing it. Took His Highness here about two hours, once he quit playing around and put his back into it."

Noct smirked, putting his hands behind his head. "Maybe I'm just that good."

Gladio ignored him. "Something unnatural about seeing a kid that size swing a sword heavier than he was. Made my skin crawl."

Ignis chuckled. "The Power of Kings at work. I can still remember the first time he picked up one of my training lances just to try it. I watched him go from inept to adept in the space of an afternoon. Truly awe-inspiring."

"Okay, that's cool," Prompto said, "but _totally_ unfair."

Gladio grunted an agreement. "Tell me about it." 

Prompto threw his hands up. "Come on, dude. Quit hogging the superpowers. It's bad enough you're the only one who can warp."

Noct snorted. "The warping sure didn't come easy."

"Indeed," Ignis agreed. "It was quite the struggle, but you were remarkably diligent. And highly motivated, of course."

"Really?" Prompto asked.

Ignis's eyes flicked to Noct's in the mirror. He was smiling. "He thought perhaps if he tried hard enough, he could warp all the way to Tenebrae, to rescue the Lady Lunafreya."

"That's adorable," Prompto sighed.

"Shut up," Noct argued.

Prompto laughed like he'd just said something hilarious. "So even if one of your great-great-great-grandparents has like some weirdo ancient nunchucks or something, you'll still be able to use them?"

"Probably," Noct shrugged. "I'd never used an axe before, but when I pulled that out of the armiger I just sort of... knew."

Prompto nodded seriously. "Can you imagine how badass you'd be summoning the Armiger with _a hundred shiny swords?_ "

Noct's head hurt just thinking about it.

"Rather unweildy," Ignis commented. 

Gladio snorted. "Could drop you on Gralea like a bomb."

Yeah, and he'd probably survive it about as well as a bomb would.

"One for every King, huh," Prompto went on. "So what's yours gonna be?"

Noct didn't like to think about it. He ignored the hollow twisting in his stomach and said, "The Engine Blade, I guess."

"The Engine Blade of the... of the what? The Noct?"

Noct blinked.

"Certainly not the Tall," Ignis said. Noct kicked the back of his seat and got a laugh out of him. 

Prompto cracked up. "Blade of the Sleepy?"

"Think you mean Blade of the Lazy," Gladio grunted.

"Blade of the Picky, perhaps?" Ignis suggested. 

"You just wait," Noct told them. "I'm gonna be remembered as King Noctis the Cool."

There was about three seconds of silence before the guys busted up laughing. At him, not with him.

"King Noctis the Comedian," Gladio laughed.

"Blade of the Dork," Prompto said.

"Sword of the Dreamer," Ignis said serenely.

Noct crossed his arms and glared out the window. "Like it matters, anyway. I'll probably be Noctis the Last."

Everyone went quiet. Until Prompto said, "So... Sword of the Virgin, then?"

Gladio cracked up. "Blade of Never Got Laid."

"Now, now," Ignis cut in. "He _is_ engaged to the Oracle."

"For now," Gladio grunted.

Noct glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just sayin'. She can still change her mind."

Prompto snorted. "Riiiight, she hasn't met Gladio yet."

He was being sarcastic, but Noct's stomach clenched up anyway.

Ignis spoke up. "I'm quite certain that if the Lady Lunafreya were prone to making poor decisions, we'd have learned of it by now."

Noct snorted. 

Gladio let out a grunt. "Pretty sure she's not my type, anyway."

"Yeah," Prompto sighed. "Lady Lunafreya's all elegant and smart and brave and badass and sophisticated and classy and —"

"I get it," Gladio bit out. 

"Kinda like Iggy," Prompto said. "But nice."

Noct laughed. 

Ignis cleared his throat. "They'll be a fine match."

"Totally," Prompto said warmly. 

Noct went back to looking out the window. His face was hot.

"The Blade of the Kind has a certain poetry to it," Ignis said, glancing at Noct in the mirror. Ugh. Ignis.

"Sword of the Soft," Gladio suggested.

"Blade of the Buddy," Prompto grinned. "Sword of the Sweet."

"Sword of the Smartass," Gladio said, smirking. Ignis gave him a _look_ in the rearview mirror, and he sighed. "Sword of the Quick."

Prompto grinned. "Blade of the Brave."

Ignis was on a roll now. "Glaive of the Good-hearted." 

"Glaive of the Good- _looking_ ," Prompto countered.

Silence.

"Wait," Prompto said.

"Doesn't quite roll off the tongue," Ignis said amiably, eyes on the road. "Sword of the Stunning, perhaps?"

"Shut up," Noct told him, face getting even hotter.

"More like Sword of the Scrawny," Gladio said.

"Sword of the Sexy," Prompto said seriously. "Blade of the Beautiful."

"Out of the car," Noct ordered. "All of you."

"It needn't be a blade at all," Ignis said, _not_ pulling over. "The Rod of the Angler, for instance."

"Now you're talking," Noct grinned.

"The Shiny Rock of the Scavenger," Prompto tried. 

"The Busted Compass of the Explorer," Gladio said.

"Truly a man of many talents," Ignis said, actually making that sound like it wasn't a joke. "I imagine the Lady Lunafreya would be quite intimidated if she only knew."

"Well," Prompto said, clapping his hands like they had a plan. "We'll have to make sure we spread the word."

"We'll wingman you," Gladio said, ruffling Noct's hair.

"No way," Noct said, fending him off.

"She won't know what hit her," Prompto said, snapping a photo of Noct before turning back around in his seat. "I'll have to make a slideshow of Noct's greatest hits."

"Prompto," Noct warned, trying to fix his hair.

"An excellent idea," Ignis agreed. "A sort of... counterpoint to the contents of the notebook."

Noct groaned, covering his face. "I _swear_ if you guys embarrass me in front of her I'm gonna track down every one of those royal arms and use them to kick all your asses at once."

"Sounds like a challenge," Gladio grinned. 

Prompto scoffed. "Dude, we're not gonna embarrass you." 

"Yeah," Gladio agreed. "You'll do that just fine on your own."

Prompto laughed. "Maybe after I show her these pictures she'll decide to marry Ignis instead."

Gladio laughed hard.

"I think _not_ ," Ignis said, taking a hand off the wheel to shove his glasses up. 

Noct snorted in spite of himself. "Might not be so bad. If you're gonna be a prince, you'll need an advisor, though."

"I'll need no such thing," Ignis sniffed. "So long as I have any say in it, you _will_ wed the Lady Lunafreya, and the ceremony will be exquisite."

Noct smirked at Gladio. "Damn straight."

Gladio snorted again. "If you say so, Iggy."

"I do," Ignis said seriously.

Prompto grinned. "Isn't that Noct's line?"


End file.
